Strengthening international cooperation: Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved took part in the 34th meeting of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS Member States in Yerevan

The 34th meeting of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS CCPG) was held in Yerevan (Republic of Armenia) at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex.

The meeting was attended by delegations of the Prosecutor General’s Offices of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the delegation of the CIS CCPG Secretariat.

For reference. The Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS Member States was established by a joint decision of the Prosecutors General of the CIS Member States on 7 December, 1995. In 2000 it acquired the status of an interstate body of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Welcoming the participants of the session, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan noted that Yerevan welcomes the delegations of the Prosecutor General’s Offices from the CIS countries after a 17-year pause.

Having thanked his Armenian colleagues for the warm welcome, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved in his report dwelt in detail on the role of the Prosecutor General’s Office in protecting the rights of minors.

The head of the supervisory agency of Belarus underlined that the protection of children’s rights is one of the priorities of the state policy of the country. He stressed that prosecutors pay special attention to the prevention of child neglect and juvenile delinquency, see the problems and contribute to the improvement of legal regulation.

“In recent years alone, the Prosecutor General’s Office has initiated amendments to more than 30 legislative acts and Government resolutions. We have deeply analyzed and proposed adjustments to legislation in the field of prevention of family disadvantage, death and injury of children from external causes, protection of minors from sexual abuse and exploitation, observance of guarantees of social protection of the rights of orphans, education and a number of others”, - said Andrei Shved.

As a result of the coordination by prosecutors of the activities of competent state bodies juvenile delinquency in Belarus has halved over the past 10 years (from 2,654 in 2014 to 1,353 in 2023), and over the past 5 years – by 25 per cent (from 1,749 to 1,353).

The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus mentioned a topical problem of providing narcological assistance to children with alcohol and drug addiction. He emphasized the importance of social rehabilitation of such children, which is designed to facilitate their further adaptation in society.

As a follow-up to the topic, Andrey Shved voiced the initiative of the agency supported by the Head of State: to organize, on a confidential basis, comprehensive medical and social rehabilitation for such children at the parents’ request on the basis of a special educational institution. He specified that the new mechanism will start to operate from 12 January, 2025.

Speaking about the ways to protect the rights of children in dysfunctional families and the realization of the rights of orphans in Belarus, the head of the supervisory agency pointed out the positive practice of work in this direction.

“The state provides family forms of upbringing for children left without parental care. Within 15 years, there are practically no orphan boarding schools and orphanages left, and the number of foster-children in them has decreased more than 10 times. Today, almost 90 per cent of orphans are brought up in family-type children’s homes and foster families. At present there are 272 family-type children’s homes, while 20 years ago there were only 11,” - said the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus.

He drew the colleagues’ attention to the novelty of the national legislation aimed at minimizing the risks of committing repeated sexual offences: “On 8 January, 2024, Belarus adopted the Law which provides, along with the imposition of criminal punishment on pedophiles, the application to them of compulsory security and treatment measures, in particular, antiandrogen therapy and psychotherapeutic methods of treatment. Such persons are also subject to additional requirements on the part of internal affairs bodies”.

Informing about the implementation of supervisory powers in the sphere of education, Andrei Shved said that “patriotic and spiritual and moral education of the younger generation is a priority of the national education system, especially in the current conditions of imposing alien values and rewriting history”.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus also highlighted the work of the agency in assisting the creation of teaching aids for pupils of all age categories, as well as in opening expositions and holding events with children dedicated to the preservation and defense of historical memory and historical justice.

Summing up his speech, Andrey Shved invited his colleagues to take part in the work of the joint forum of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and the CIS CCPG, which will be held in November 2024 in Minsk.

Within the framework of the event the Prosecutors General of the CIS member states discussed problematic issues of practice and improvement of activities to combat crime and corruption, ensuring law and order, protection of human rights and freedoms. They learnt about the experience of the prosecutor’s offices in protecting entrepreneurship and supporting investment projects, preventing extremism, terrorism and cybercrime. Examined the practice of implementing international treaties in the area of legal cooperation in criminal matters in 2023. They as well focused on the observance of the rights of socially vulnerable categories of citizens, including minors.

The decisions adopted at the meeting will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the prosecutor’s offices and law enforcement agencies, as well as improving the effectiveness of cooperation in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.

Within the framework of the event, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved and Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan had a working meeting, during which the heads of the supervisory agencies discussed the issues of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and extradition of persons who have committed crimes for criminal prosecution or execution of a court sentence. They exchanged experience in the organization of supervision in separate spheres of the life of society and the State.

It was decided to hold the next CIS CCPG meeting in 2025 in Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan.

Photo: Prosecutor General’s Offices of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Russian Federation

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